It did more than I expected. I was surprised.

​@@MagnumVideos is it really a fair comparison though? you tested completely dry ground vs wet ground with the liquid aerator on it... wouldn't a better test comparison be "wet alone" vs "wet with liquid aerator"? water alone will also make it easier to put a fork in the ground.

@@stevenstrauss5391 Again, logically sound argument.

I'm sure it will help... as long as it's not a tree root.

Don't make the soil around your tree too loose... unless you're ok with erosion and it calling over ;)

You're logically correct. I may have to redo this test and make it more scientific and fair. Thanks for the comment. Point well taken.

I thought the same

it definitely does what it is intended to do (remove hydrophobic water issues). You can tell in clay soils like this that it is working when you move the pitchfork back and forth while the tines are in the root area and the area directly around wiggles like a bit of jello, though not to a literal extent. without putting a lawn shampoo product like this one down after watering a clay soil you might still be able to get the tines to go that deep but moving the tines back and forth won't cause the jello effect, and it's because the water is probably only down in the first inch of the clay before it decided it would be preferable to slide off to another part of the ground instead of soaking directly down. lower than that the clay is still holding on to itself tightly.

Whoops. I should have listened to the last 3 minutes before asking you that last question. Thank you for very much for being very thorough.

That's a great question. The only thing I can say is that even when we get a good rain, the soil has always been very hard in those areas so I'm thinking the simple solution had some effect on it. Thanks so much for watching and for your comment!

If I remember right, it was the next morning.

Thanks for watching!

That's a great question. The Ortho delivers about 2 gallons per minute of the mixture. I diluted it so I would have more time to spray it before running out. I'm pretty sure it's the same strength when you dilute it, since you're spraying more of the dilute mixture on the lawn. If anyone has any better explanation, chime in. Allyn Have, (Lawn Care Nut channel) has a pretty good explanation of how the Ortho works.

Magnum would be nice if it was setup like the dial on a broadcast spreader. Fill it up, Set the number and keep about a 3 mph walk. I’m thinking of combining both liquid and plugging. Most likely spray then plug. We’ve also got a new construction with hard packed clay.

@@Lumpygrits76 I agree. It is a bit confusing at first.

Exactly.

I don't think you have to water first, since this is a liquid that saturates the soil as you apply it. You could probably water afterwards to drive it down deeper.

That's correct. I had NOT watered before the first test.

Always mix your solution in one bucket, then pour gently into your sprayer, leaving any debris behind.

Good question! I didn't notice much difference in the grass after the treatment. I'm in the process of overseeding now. I did core aeration, so hopefully that will help loosen it up some and watering always helps the grass. I'm considering throwing down some gypsum after the new grass comes up, but it's getting kind of late in the year.

@@MagnumVideos so if you felt the need to do core aeration afterwards and then gypsum then it didn't really do anything. It's advertised to work deeper than core aeration so if it had worked then core aeration would be pointless.

I don't see why it would be. It's primarily an emulsifier (like soap) so I'm guessing it's just going to soak into the soil. But you might want to check the ingredients to be sure.

Yeah, that was my biggest thought; it takes days and maybe a week or so for that solution to break down the soil. I think this was a cheap advertisement for Ms. Pam and the product

I paid C$68 at amazon, very overpriced